V I D E O A G E March/April 2022 22 MIPTV 2022 Views (Continued from Cover) (Continued on Page 24) Müge Akar, ATV’s deputy Sales manager for Europe and Asia Global Agency’s The Game of My Destiny is part of the company’s MIPTV slate A scene from MIPTV exhibitor Kanal D’s Three Sisters Mediaset’s Storia di una famiglia perbene (The Modern Family) to reconnecting in person with independent producers and distributors and are not fretting about the reduced participation of the U.S. studios at MIPTV. Naturally, views about MIPTV 2022 from all parts of the world would be preferable, but unfortunately, space considerations limited VideoAge’s report to just four territories. However, statistically speaking, comments coming from a sample of 62 participants (including France’s Unifrance pavillion), or some three percent of the expected attendance, can provide a good assessment of the MIPTV 2022 market. The views were collected by VideoAge’s Los Angeles contributor Mike Reynolds; Italy-based media reporter Maria Chiara Duranti; media professor Arzu Öztürkmen from Turkey; and Hervé Michel of France’s Unifrance. From Turkey’s Arzu Öztürkmen of Bogaziçi University, author of The Delight of Turkish Dizi: Memory, Genre and Politics of Television in Turkey: Turkish companies exhibiting at MIPTV include Kanal D, ATV, Global Agency and Raya Group. Most Turkish executives contacted for this article are convinced that reviving the “old times” will be difficult now that people have experienced that business can be run online, in an “as efficient but less costly manner.” There are, however, different approaches to the changing conditions of the market. There is a strong sense of nostalgia, which prevails. Attending the markets, particularly MIP events in Cannes, has been the joy of the profession, and approaching the upcoming MIPTV, some have expressed that they will participate by opening their usual stands, while others have said that they will be present, but only with their badges. The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which holds the official representation of Turkey in global fairs, decided not to open its usual stand this year. With the recent economic crisis, many companies expressed to them their concern about covering their own costs, despite the ICC subsidies. The national broadcaster, TRT, which did not open a stand at MIPCOM, does not plan to do so at the upcoming MIPTV, either. Inter Medya COO Ahmet Ziyalar is also among those who think MIPTV is losing vigor. “We believe participation will be much lower than before.Wewill showup onlywith badges, without opening any stand. We do not expect the LATAM companies to show up in particular. Markets have never been the same after the pandemic, and I am afraid they never will have the past zeal. The closest market to give this feeling will be the next MIPCOM, where we can open our first stand. When participation is low, the market becomes not worth investing in.” In some cases, participation positions change, as it did for longtime attendee Idil Belli, the general manager of Sera Film, who states that she will not be a seller but only a buyer this year. Senay Filiztekin, the head of Drama Acquisitions at Global Agency, thinks that given the current conditions, there will be a lower turnout at this MIPTV, featuring the regular profile of series and format buyers. ATV’s deputy Sales manager for Europe and Asia, Müge Akar, stated that she expects to see more content buyers from Europe and the Middle East. Despite the low profile of participation, those who attend target the best of it. Ates Ince, the managing director of MADD, aims to meet with free-TV buyers from the Central and Eastern Europe region this year. He holds a more positive approach to the market: “We expect a good fair from our point of view. Seventy percent of our customers are participating. The pandemic has increased the importance of face-to-face relationships. Markets are very important in this respect and I do not think that they can be replaced.” Similarly, Senay Filiztekin remembered how attending the most recent MIPCOM felt good in terms of raising people’s moods, despite the lower participation because of vaccination policies. “Those who could not come expressed their regrets in post-market Zoom talks, stating that they will definitely come to MIPTV.” Aysegül Tüzün, the managing director of MISTCO, had another perspective, reminding how companies organized their own online meetings and events during the pandemic, as a way to replace the markets: “Although this process has been functional from the beginning, we also observed that it is not sustainable in the long term. People’s motivations decrease; physical markets are still important for face-toface communication. Combining MIPTV and MIPCOM can be a better idea.” Sera Film’s Idil Belli wishes that “there was a shift towards new dates and locations, making MIPCOM in September for instance, or having a Turkish Screenings event in Istanbul.” There is indeed a strong will to organize a global market in Istanbul, and interested parties take professional guidance to organize one. Recently, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the Minister of Culture and Tourism, expressed his views on that matter: “Using the power of our television series, which have reached approximately 600 million people in 152 different countries to date, we plan to make Istanbul the center of the television content market and organize the Content Istanbul Fair in 2022, bringing together the world’s most important film, television series, animation, and format producers. With this breakthrough, we will be attracting the market to Turkey.” Distributors now have fresh content in their hands for both the mainstream networks as well as digital platforms. Some distributors like Inter Medya, Global Agency, or Sera Film are also producing their own content. Ates Ince remarked that the SVoD platforms had developed a rising interest in Turkish series. Referring to the newly licensed (grouped under) “New Generation of Turkish Series” which has shorter and fewer episodes, telling compelling stories, Inter Medya’s Ahmet Ziyalar believes that the streaming platforms will gradually show more interest in this new genre. Aysegül Tüzün,managingdirector ofMISTCO, also finds digital content exciting: “There are many works that get very good feedback, but due to the limited number of episodes, their market penetration seems to be limited for now.”
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